Simplicity: The Latest Home Design Trend

Simplicity has a long tradition in America. From the Puritans, Quakers, and Shakers to the author Henry David Thoreau, right through to the Craftsman style and mid-century modern of the 1930s to early 1960s, simplicity has been celebrated.

It's back today - not just in sleek urban lofts populated with someone's grandmother's Mies van der Rohe furniture, but in homes across America. It's not minimalism necessarily; it doesn't celebrate the absence of pieces.

Simplicity is pleasing, pared-down, and stress-free, while creating a refuge from the 24/7 world. It's convenient and easy - and nowhere as complicated as people's to-do lists or schedules.

Here are some ways that consumers are bringing simplicity home with them.

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Soothing Neutrals with On-Trend Gray

Beyond the fact that neutral colors tend to be the most soothing, they also save on time and financial resources.

Rather than using a trendy bright color that will quickly fade out of style, incorporating an on-trend neutral like gray, which has been predicted as THE neutral for today, helps homeowners keep current while still having a long-lasting d�cor.

"We've found that this new neutral is not as dreary as one would think but can be used to fit a range of tastes to add a calming and elegant touch to a room," said Kim Kiner, Hunter Douglas Vice President of Product Design. Try silver, charcoal or taupe grays on walls, floors and furnishings.

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Calming with One Popping Pattern or Intriguing Texture

A neutral room is just the start. To make a home relaxing but still resonate with the latest on-trend style, a few patterned or textured accent pieces can make a room current while not being too overwhelming.

"One easy way to add these elements is with new Design Studio� Roman Shades from Hunter Douglas," continued Kiner. "They are designed with a simplicity not found in any other traditional Roman shades."

The line offers a carefully edited, exclusive fabric and trim collection with custom quality craftsmanship and a simplified step-by-step ordering process and quick delivery. The shades come in four distinctive shades styles - Batten Front, Batten Back, Flat and Hobble - and can be accompanied by coordinating valances. Consumers choose from 320 stripes, florals, damasks, sheers, solids that shimmer with richness and intriguing textures that also present a casual style.

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Peaceful Open Space

As easy as turning off one's phone when arriving home to relax, so is clearing out any unnecessary items that only crowd the space and add to stress. The trend to simplify has brought a range of new products that are made to store items and that are also fashionable - so fashionable, in fact, that they are making the design pages of The Wall Street Journal and other leading publications.

These items include ottomans that lift open to neatly place blankets, magazines, and remotes out of sight - as well as storage bins sporting charming prints, venerable wood tones, mixes of bamboo and canvas and even rush weaves that are at home in the most stylish of living rooms.

We may not have retreated to Thoreau's Walden Pond, but Americans are making achieving simple, on-trend style a priority.

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Reprinted with the courtesy of Hunter Douglas

Hunter Douglas Inc. is a national sponsor of Habitat for Humanity, covering windows in every Habitat home built in the U.S. and Canada. Headquartered in Upper Saddle River N.J., the company is the leading manufacturer of custom window fashions in North America.

For more information, contact Hunter Douglas at 1-800-274-2985 or visit Hunter Douglas.